A radial bearing, e.g. a bearing that controls axial motion, is exposed to considerable load and stress during operation. Additionally, it is desired that a bearing shall have a long lifetime and shall need small maintenance efforts. More specifically, a low friction of a bearing is typically targeted.
Radial bearings may for example be utilized in wind turbines. A radial bearing of a wind turbine may comprise a first stationary ring and a second rotatable ring. A radial bearing in a wind turbine is for example utilized for connecting a hub of the wind turbine and a rotor blade of the wind turbine. In this case, the bearing is typically prone to diverse forces, e.g. in axial and/or radial direction.
A problem commonly encountered in this context is therefore deformation, e.g. axial and/or radial run-out, of the radial bearing. Until now, various methods have been tried out for solving this problem:
Use of a bearing with a bigger and wider stationary ring;
Using more bolts, wherein the bolts fix or attach the stationary ring with the hub; and
Using bigger bolts at the connection between the stationary ring and the hub.
However, all these concepts are expensive if bearings are made of a special high strength, cost intensive steel, which is often needed, e.g. in blade bearings for wind turbines.
Another solution which has been proposed is a support of the stationary ring of the bearing. In the patent application WO 2012/080350, a hub of a wind turbine with supporting elements is disclosed. These supporting elements support an outer ring of a blade bearing, the blade bearing connecting the hub with a rotor blade of the wind turbine. The supporting elements are fixed to the outer ring via a preload device. A disadvantage of this proposed solution is installation of the supporting element which is complex and sophisticated.
Therefore, a need exists for an improved bearing. More specifically, an improved concept for supporting a first ring of the bearing, in particular against deformation, is targeted.